Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

OC has been the subject of several other reports. Benchmark reissued a hold rating on shares of Owens Corning in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup raised shares of Owens Corning from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $178.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Owens Corning from $188.00 to $175.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a neutral rating and set a $187.00 target price on shares of Owens Corning in a report on Monday, June 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $184.23.

Owens Corning Price Performance

Shares of NYSE OC traded up $1.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $157.03. The company had a trading volume of 752,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 673,026. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $166.38. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Owens Corning has a fifty-two week low of $109.95 and a fifty-two week high of $191.13.

Owens Corning (NYSE:OC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The construction company reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.37 by $0.27. Owens Corning had a return on equity of 26.52% and a net margin of 11.53%. The company had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.22 EPS. Owens Corning’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Owens Corning will post 15.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Owens Corning Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 15th. Owens Corning’s payout ratio is 19.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Todd W. Fister sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.65, for a total transaction of $520,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,491,854.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Marcio A. Sandri sold 9,697 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,726,066.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 62,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,195,310. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Todd W. Fister sold 3,000 shares of Owens Corning stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.65, for a total transaction of $520,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 31,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,491,854.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,360 shares of company stock valued at $3,437,315 over the last 90 days. 0.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Owens Corning

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OC. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Owens Corning by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,130 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Owens Corning by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,082 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Owens Corning by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Owens Corning by 24.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 391 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Owens Corning by 112.9% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 149 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.40% of the company’s stock.

About Owens Corning

Owens Corning manufactures and sells building and construction materials in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Roofing, Insulation, and Composites. The Roofing segment manufactures and sells laminate and strip asphalt roofing shingles, oxidized asphalt materials, and roofing components used in residential and commercial construction, and specialty applications.